Chocolate Chip Muffins

Welcome to my most popular Muffin Monday recipe: chocolate chip muffins.  But please don't make the mistake of thinking that these are just any chocolate chip muffins.  They are the best ones you could imagine.  First, can we talk about these muffin tops?  They are the tallest, puffiest, most perfect muffin tops on the entire planet.  And that's even without coarse sugar on top because I didn't have any.  They are just so pretty.

By the way, the secret to amazing muffin tops like these is to bake them at a really high temperature for the first 5 minutes, and then to lower it for the rest of the baking time.  It makes them rise up like crazy.  And a whopping 4 teaspoons of baking powder doesn't hurt either!

But these muffins are more than just a pretty muffin top!  They are the perfect consistency: soft and fluffy, and flavored with cinnamon and a little nutmeg.  You know me: I could live without the chocolate chips; in fact, I cut out 1/2 cup from the recipe so feel free to add them back in if you're a chocoholic (I think I may have to try these again ASAP with blueberries... yeah, Mom, you read that correctly), but everyone else went wild over them.  These muffins were the most popular of the Muffin Monday series.  No need to take my word for it: you could totally be eating these within an hour.

Recipe:

chocolate chip muffins
from Sally's Baking Addiction
makes 16 muffins

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk (milk will work too, but buttermilk is best for texture!)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray your muffin tin of choice with non-stick spray or line with muffin liners.  Set aside.

2) In a large bowl, gently toss together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Mix until all dry ingredients are combined.  Set aside.

3) In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until combined.  Mix in milk, oil, and vanilla.  Mixture will be pale and yellow.  Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix everything together by hand with a wooden spoon.  Avoid over mixing.  Gently mix until all the flour is off the bottom of the bowl and no big pockets of flour remain.  The batter will be very thick and somewhat lumpy.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

4) Divide batter among prepared muffin tins, filling all the way to the top.  Top with a sprinkle of coarse sugar if preferred.  Bake at 425 for 5 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake for 13 - 14 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and centers appear set.

5) Allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan before enjoying.  Muffins taste best fresh the same day.  Store muffins at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.  Muffins freeze well, up to 3 months.